Was Tottenham Hotspur’s transfer window a success or failure?

With the transfer window finally coming to an end, many teams across the globe contributed to a staggering £1.7 billion spent on transfer fees, a world record by quite some margin. It was one of the most unpredictable deadline days that I can remember since Andy Carroll joined Liverpool for £35m after Torres joined fierce rivals in Chelsea back in 2011.

David Luiz made his fairy tale return to Chelsea while Tottenham and Everton where scrapping out a deal for Mousa Sissoko which went right down to the wire, yes you heard that correctly. Newly promoted teams looked to bolster their squad for an attempt of survival whereas the more superior clubs in the top flight of English football had their eyes set on Premier League glory.

I will be assessing Tottenham Hotspur’s transfer activity during the 2016/2017 summer transfer window, and if it’s enhanced there chances of regaining a valuable Champions League spot, or even pushing for the Premier League title. Ending up with a total net spend of £32m, Daniel Levy certainly wasn’t reluctant to ‘splash the cash’ and put his money where his mouth was.

Being one of the most important campaigns this season with the Lilywhites fining a new domain after 117 memorable years at White Hart Lane, they are pending an arrival at a new glorified 61,000 capacity stadium. Expectations being higher then ever after last years promising season, Spurs look to replicate this success and reach further heights with a much stronger, capable squad, as the sky is certainly the limit for this young, ambitious side.

Departures

The priority of this widow was to improve our squad depth, competing against Europe’s elite you want to stand a chance in the most prestigious tournament in World football and relish every moment of it. Quite a few left the North Londoners and saw their future elsewhere, with regular first team action being the main factor.

Ryan Mason (Hull City, £10m)

Mason being one of the few players who emerged through the youth academy and broke into the first team squad a few years ago, with an outstanding long rage strike breaking the deadlock against Nottingham Forrest in the Cup kick started his Tottenham career. He would be a scapegoat the majority of times we lost and fans would get frustrated with his lack of strength, which is vital in the centre of midfield.

Hull were in a crisis of not adding to their very fragile squad, the addition of Mason opened the floodgates to many new arrivals at the KCOM Stadium. The Englishman being the clubs record breaking signing, as this shows he is very capable of playing in the most competitive league in Europe.

The 25-year-old was searching for regular first team action, and after the arrival of Victor Wanyama he realised Tottenham was not the place for that. Sunderland were reportedly interested in the midfielder but Hull always looked the favourites throughout all the speculation surrounding his move away from White Hart Lane.

Deandre Yedlin (Newcastle United, £5m)

Some would say that he didn’t get his chance to prove himself worthy of a starting role, with my theory that we only lured him into the club for commercial investments and a wider fan base from America after an impressive World Cup representing his home nation.

After a successful loan spell at Sunderland last season he proved some critics wrong to many fans across England, being involved in there road to survival and dumping rivals Newcastle United to the Championship, who he then joined this summer.

Always playing third best to Kyle Walker and Kieran Trippier, he would always find it difficult to replace these two reliable defenders and gain his trust in Mauricio Pochettino. His exhilarating pace and power he possesses are probably the best traits towards his game, as he heavily relies on this when defending and can sometimes bail him out from lacklustre positioning and awareness.

In the 2014/2015 season the Algerian was a key part to our midfield, as most of us fans thought he would cement his place there for many years to come. The consistency and willingness he displayed for the team, many assumed he was definitely a strong candidate for the captains armband in the future, playing a flurry of games at full back and admitted he would play anywhere the manager puts him meaning it’s beneficial for the side.

His confidence on the ball complimented by his intelligence of the game makes you think he’s been playing in the league for years, still being only 21 years of age he undoubtedly has a bright future ahead of him.

Something wasn’t right, his head seemed elsewhere for whatever reason (nobody knows) and gradually fell down the pecking order at his last year for the club. Schalke have an option to buy Bentaleb at the end of his loan spell, as we may regret losing such an asset and is arguably our biggest loss in the entire window.

The heartache of last year regarding Sadio Berahino, I never thought we would have intentions doing business with Jeremy Peace, let alone sell to the Baggies. Looking at the inflation and the state of the transfer market at the moment, £13m looks like an absolute steal for a proven Premier League attacker who will guarantee you goals, which Tony Pulis’ side is lacking.

The Belgian’s three year spell at the club wasn’t all ‘doom and gloom’, scoring some vital goals for us and being a constant threat down the left wing. His physical presence is what differentiates him from any other winger, as he’s not gifted with pace but will compliment Tony Pulis’ play style very well due to his height and strength.

Pochettino made it clear before the window opened he wanted to add to the squad which already challenged in the title race, and was adamant Daniel Levy bought explosive players with pace and power to bring off the bench. Signing five players just shows the ambition of the board, as the future is looking bright in Lilywhite.

Victor Wanyama (Southampton, £11m)

Rating: 7.5/10

The Kenyan was linked to Spurs many times during his career at Southampton, as former manager Ronald Koeman clearly stated that the midfielder will not leave the club during his time there. Being a huge fan of Maruicio Pochettino while he was in charge of the Saints, Wanyama was easily persuaded by a move to North London.

He will add heaps of strength into the midfield and will be an exceptional option from the bench. Making a huge impression filling in for the suspended Dembele, he nodded home on his debut to snatch as the three points against Palace, backed up by a stellar man of the match performance.

Having experience in the Premier League was a huge positive for the Argentine manager, with the new arrival looking to keep his starting role after the International break when Mousa Dembele returns from his lengthy suspension.

Vincent Janssen (AZ Alkmaar, £17m)

Rating: 8/10

Having an incredible record in the Eredivisie, scoring 27 goals in 34 appearances at the age of 22 is impeccable. Snubbing the likes of Paris Saint German and West Ham just indicates his raw potential and talent. The deal was completed nice and early in the window (like Wanyama) as these additions were vital for this season if we looked to carry on our momentum from last years incredible campaign.

Predominantly playing back-up to Kane, he’s emerged into the starting line-up recently and pushed last years top goalscorer into the number 10 role. Janssen has adapted to Pochettino’s philosophy very quickly as he’s pressing high up the pitch in the right areas while also holding up the ball to bring others into the game, which Kane did so well last year.

Arriving from FC Nantes to French giants Marseille, he looked to build his reputation by performing at the big stage. Gaining interest from across the globe after a remarkable season in Ligue 1, he was nominated at 30th place for Uefa’s Best Player last year, as this emphasises his development from his time in France. With fellow Frenchman Dimitri Payet leaving to the Hammers, this opened up the left wing position, and he capitalised on this opportunity immediately.

His blistering pace will add a whole new dimension off the bench, running at the defence when there fatigued and vulnerable will create many opportunities. The deal dragged on for around a month, as Clinton N’Jie departed to Marseillefor part of the deal, which is why negotiations stalled and the deal dragged out for so long.

Being one of the most unpredictable transfers on deadline day, Spurs equipped the French powerhouse to their alliance with Everton fans left ‘fuming’ over the whole saga. It looked imminent that Sissoko was going to join the Tofees, but at the dying stages of the window Spurs swooped in and matched there staggering £30m bid.

The former Newcastle midfielder prioritised Champions League football and that’s what persuaded him to join over Everton. The deal will make Tottenham pay five instalments of £6m each year, and if he leaves the club before his contract expires we will no longer have to pay the remaining instalments.

I will be doing a separate article specifically on Sissoko’s worth and elaborating on the state of this generations transfer market and his worth to the team, as I think he will be a revelation under Mauricio Pochttino whilst I’m confident he will produce the best out of our new record signing.

Thanks for the comment, I hope you enjoyed the article! I completely agree with you, fingers crossed everyone we brought in will perform to the best of their ability and hopefully secure Champions League qualification for another year.